


i don't know where you're going

by trilliastra



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Human, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Squat the dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 16:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15867183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trilliastra/pseuds/trilliastra
Summary: “I told you to stop.” It’s the first thing his dad says when Stiles closes the door behind him. Squat is already munching at a piece of bread that Stiles eyes suspiciously. “He’s a great guy, I’d hate to catch him naked in my book shop.”“That happened exactly once.” Stiles throws his hands in the air. “And mom told me I was conceived on that same chair Squat is trying to climb.” Squat barks upon hearing his name and finally concedes he won’t be able to climb the chair, flopping on the floor happily.“That’s different.” His dad argues, a blush spreading through his face.“How?”“No one caught us.”





	i don't know where you're going

“Hey, pops! Ready for lunch?” Stiles walks into his dad’s book store, smiles at the photo of his mom hanging on the wall. “Hey, mom.” He whispers softly, just like always.

The shop used to be his mom’s and after she died his dad kept it closed for some time. It held many memories – Stiles’ first steps, his first words, the first time his mom fainted – some of them too painful for the two of them to handle. He kept the building for Stiles, he’d say, it was his mom’s after all, he should be the one to decide what to do with it, and then one day, he got shot. It was just a graze and he was home before dinner, only to find a ten year old Stiles crying on his bed, begging him not to leave him too.

He signed his resignation the next day and two months after that, Claudia’s book shop was open once more. As it still is, today.

“One minute, son.” Stiles’ dad called out from his office and as Stiles steps inside the room, he gives him a small wave. “Derek, that’s Stiles. Stiles, Derek.” His dad gestures to the man sitting in front of him. “I was just finishing interviewing him for the afternoon shift.” He explains and Derek turns to wave at Stiles.

He has green eyes, Stiles notices, and biceps that screams ‘I could kill a man with my bare hands’ or maybe 'I could fuck you against a wall if I wanted to’ and Stiles tries not to think about that as his dad sends him a confused look.

“Nice to meet you.” Stiles manages to blurt out and sees his dad face-palm as Derek answers with a 'nice to meet you too’. What can he do, he shrugs when Derek turns to his dad again, the guy is  _a masterpiece_.

“I’ll give you a call.” His dad smiles, shaking Derek’s hand and walking him to the exit.

“Thank you, sir.” Derek answers, waving at Stiles with a smile of his own.

When the door is closed behind him his dad turns to Stiles with an arched eyebrow. “No.”

“Oh, come on!” Stiles cries out. “Please hire him,  _please_.”

“I’ll not hire someone just because you liked his –” he waves around awkwardly, “ _whatever_.”

“ _Ass._ ” Stiles smiles wickedly. “The word you’re looking for is  _ass_.” And what a great ass it is, all round and firm as he walked with a swagger that says he knows he’s hot and just likes torturing poor unfortunate souls, like Stiles. And those tight jeans,  _hmmmnnn_. “Though he had great arms too.”

“Stop.” He turns the sign on the door to closed and all but pushes Stiles out the store. “I don’t need you here all the time distracting my employee.”

“But you’re always complaining about not seeing me!” Stiles argues, following his dad to the car. “Two birds, one stone!”

“No.” His dad says once more. “And that’s final.”

–

“So what’s your story?” Stiles asks, snorting when Derek curses and drops a book on the floor.

“Don’t do that.” Derek turns to glare at him, the little wrinkle on his forehead is adorable. He kneels to collect the book and Stiles sighs, enjoying the view. “Your dad said you’re in college, shouldn’t you be – I don’t know,  _studying_  or something?”

“Done that.” Stiles grins, following Derek in between shelves. “Summer vacation awaits. I’m free as a bird.”

“Lucky me.” Derek retorts, turning around and all but shoving Stiles to the side. “Stop following me.”

“But I’m bored.” Stiles whines, and it’s only half a lie, he  _is_  bored, but he is also enjoying the show. Derek’s work attire usually consists on tight t-shirts and even tighter jeans – Stiles is pretty sure he’s never seen so many teenage girls interested in books before. “Come on, tell me  _one_  little thing about you. Just  _one_.”

“Will you leave me alone if I do?” Derek asks, collapsing on the chair behind the counter with a sigh.

“Maybe.” Stiles smirks. “Let’s find out.” He leans against the counter, gives Derek his brightest smile. It usually works with his Scott, and sometimes with his dad.

Derek only rolls his eyes. “Fine.” He shakes his head when Stiles lets out a muted  _yay_. “I’m twenty five years old and I just dropped out of college.”

Stiles watches him expectantly and then immediately deflates when Derek stops at that. “That’s – that’s  _nothing_.”

It’s Derek’s turn to grin. “You said  _one little thing._ ”

Stiles opens his mouth, closes it again. “You,” he pokes at Derek’s super muscled chest, regrets it immediately, “are ridiculous.”

Derek holds his finger. “I have two sisters” he smiles, “that game you’re playing, I already won.”

Fuck, Stiles smiles, he  _is_  adorable. “Are you sure?” He winks, laughing loudly when Derek finally realizes what he just said.

“Shit.”

Stiles laughs again, using his free hand to give Derek’s shoulder a friendly pat. “I’m pretty sure your sisters were tough competitors but,” he says, leaning in so they are face to face with only the counter between them, “I’m better.”

He turns around and walks out of the shop feeling victorious, it’s only when he’s inside his car he realizes his heart is still pounding.

-

Despite not having a sign, Stiles’ dad has a strict 'no pets in the shop’ policy due to an unfortunate event involving a cat, two dogs and a ruined book. Stiles doesn’t know exactly what happened but his dad’s eyebrow twitches every time the incident is mentioned so he gets the gist.

“Your dad is going to kill me.” Derek growls, blocking the door and looking at Stiles’ dog like it’s trying to ruin his life. “Or fire me, which would be worse.”

“How can that be worse?” Stiles asks as his corgi starts to bark. “Shh, Squat, you’ll see grandpa soon.”

“ _Squat_?” Derek arches an eyebrow. “Really?”

“The name came with him!” Stiles defends himself.

Derek snorts, staring at Stiles like he doesn’t believe him. “I’m sure.”

“Shut up,” Stiles glares, ready to start arguing again when he spots his dad inside the shop, sipping his coffee and pointedly not looking at them. “Dad! Tell your bodyguard to let me in!”

“I’m not his bodyguard!” Derek answers at the same time his dad finally sighs and abandons his coffee on the table.

“It’s fine, I usually make an exception for this dog.” He touches Derek’s shoulder, smiling brightly when Squat barks at him. “Hey, buddy.” He takes the dog from Stiles, lets him get comfortable in his arms. “You hungry? Yes, I know you are.” Squat licks at his chin then turns to bark at Derek again. “No, none of that. He’s nice. He actually brought me a nice burger this morning. And it had bacon. You love bacon, right?” He keeps talking to the dog, backing away from a flabbergasted Derek. “I’ve still got some in the back, how about that?”

“ _Bacon_?” Stiles turns to glare at Derek, who takes a step back “You’re letting him have bacon?” The guy who worked at the shop before Derek was vegan and always gave his dad the side eye when he caught him having any kind of meat, Stiles liked him immediately. And then they found out he was stealing from them.

Stiles watches Derek glare at him, the tip of his ears going red. “I’m not his personal trainer either!” There’s no way a guy this adorable is a thief.

“Stiles.” His dad calls from his office. “Here, now.”

“I’m not a dog.” Stiles mutters under his breath, stepping over Derek’s foot as he stifles a laugh. “This is not over.” He throws a glare over his shoulder.

Derek winks. “I can’t wait.”

-

“I told you to stop.” It’s the first thing his dad says when Stiles closes the door behind him. Squat is already munching at a piece of bread that Stiles eyes suspiciously. “He’s a great guy, I’d hate to catch him naked in my book shop.”

“That happened exactly  _once_.” Stiles throws his hands in the air. “And mom told me I was conceived on that  _same_ chair Squat is trying to climb.” Squat barks upon hearing his name and finally concedes he won’t be able to climb the chair, flopping on the floor happily.

“That’s different.” His dad argues, a blush spreading through his face.

“How?”

“No one caught us.”

“Ugh.” Stiles rolls his eyes. “I hate you a lot. And we have to meet Scott in fifteen minutes for lunch, so you better change your shirt.”

“Shit.” Stiles’ dad lets out. “Can you tell Derek? I need to find the bag.” He starts rummaging through piles and piles of books and magazines and paperwork. “And don’t forget to lock Squat in the back room.”

“Sure.” Stiles rolls his eyes fondly. Organization was never his dad’s forte, it was always his mom who dealt with the paperwork. He reaches out to stop his dad from moving frantically around the room and pulls him into a hug. “Stop eating bacon, please.”

“I will.” His dad answers, patting Stiles’ back. “Come on,” he pulls back and smiles, “we can’t be late for your friend’s engagement party.”

“Yeah.” Stiles smiles, turning around to hide his watery eyes.

–

“Are you okay?” Derek asks as soon as Stiles steps foot into the shop. “Your eyes are all –”

“My best friend got engaged.” Stiles answers, closing the door behind him and turning the sign to closed. “I cried like a baby.”

Derek smiles at him softly and then frowns at the bag of take out in his hand. “I thought you were out having lunch.”

“This is for you.” Stiles says, gesturing for Derek to step closer. “It’s Japanese.” When Derek only keeps frowning confusedly at the bag, Stiles immediately adds “but I can go buy something else if you don’t like it,” he says in a haste, “there’s a coffee shop down the street and –”

“That’s fine.” Derek interrupts him, finally opening the bag with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”

“I can be nice!” Stiles says defensively.

“I know.” Derek nods, clasping his hand on Stiles shoulder and taking a bite off a spring roll. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Stiles admits, feeling his face heat up as Derek smiles again. He realizes he’s been staring at Derek eat when Squat barks loudly from the back room. “Well, I better take him for a walk. My dad likes him, but I don’t know how long that’s going to last if the store smells of dog pee for weeks.” He goes for a joke, realizes he’s being weird and just rushes to the back room. “Thank you.” He mutters as Squat jumps on him. “You have the best timing.”

Stiles searches for the dog treats he knows his dad hides on top of the closet and throws one at Squat, frowning when the dog doesn’t even look at it. “Are you sick?” He asks, arching an eyebrow. Squat _loves_  treats, one time he found the bag hidden under his dad’s work desk and almost ate himself into a coma.

He’s about to interrupt Scott and Allison’s happy afternoon of discussing wedding preparations because Squat is  _obviously_  dying and Scott is the best vet in town, when he spots crumbs on the floor leading all the way to a bag of take out in the trash. It’s McDonald’s.

_Oh my God_.

Derek is decidedly the most adorable employee his dad could have ever hired.

–

“You know,” Stiles smirks when he spots Derek taking yet another bite of the spring rolls. He looks like he’s going to explode and Stiles hides a laugh behind his hand, “I also brought some dessert but I left it in the car. Do you wanna share?”

Derek swallows, takes a deep breath and then forces a very  _adorable_  smile. “Sure.”

“Oh my God.” Stiles laughs. “You could have just said no!”

Derek’s eyes widen. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The bag of McDonald’s in the trash says otherwise.” Stiles stops Squat from running around the store by holding his leash tighter, smiles as Derek lets out a defeated sigh and abandons the food.

“It was a nice gesture.” He says. “I just didn’t wanna offend you.”

“So you decided to eat till your stomach exploded?” Stiles smirks, taking Squat in his arms. “Come on,” he lets the dog lick at Derek’s chin, laughs when Derek gives him a disgusted look but doesn’t move away, “I already forgave you for the bacon.”

“I really didn’t know.” The tip of his ears turn red and he pats Squat’s head awkwardly. “I mean – I’m sorry I made you worry about your dad.”

“I always worry about him.” Stiles lets Derek take Squat from him and moves to the chair again. He glances at the picture his dad keeps on the counter. Stiles was five when it was taken and his mom was healthy, happy, smiling at the camera like nothing was wrong – and back then it wasn’t. They were all so naïve.

“I lost my dad when I was fifteen.” Derek says, suddenly. “House fire.” He explains when Stiles looks up at him, curiously. Squat nuzzles at Derek’s throat, seemingly aware that the human holding him needs to be comforted. He’s the best dog.

“It sucks, right?” Stiles snorts, humorless.

“Yeah.” Derek agrees. After a moment, he shrugs, “well, how about that dessert?”

Stiles lets out a startled laugh, shakes his head when Derek laughs with him. “How bad do you wanna throw up right now?”

“Really bad.” Derek answers and they both start laughing again.

–

“Neil Gaiman?” Stiles collapses on the couch next to Derek, after two weeks Derek stopped being surprised by him and now merely looks up and huffs at being interrupted. Sometimes he even lets Stiles read the book over his shoulder – those are Stiles’ favorite moments. “Again?”

They’ve been spending more and more time together, Stiles finding stupid excuses to drop by more often just to find Derek on the couch, or sometimes on the floor, reading a new book. He likes the classics, Stiles discovered, but he has some deep theories about Lord of The Rings and Game of Thrones, and don’t get him started on Harry Potter – that discussion took  _hours_.

(Derek thinks Harry should’ve ended up as a professor in Hogwarts,  _hah_ , as if).

“I like his books.” Derek states, looking up when a group of teenagers enters the store. “Hold this.” He sets the book on Stiles’ lap and heads towards the girls eying him curiously.

Stiles busies himself reading the cover, deciding if he should actually give this one a shot, when he listens to the door close and Derek huff. “You really should give one of them a call.” Stiles teases, ignoring the jealousy surging through his body. Derek will never go out with a teenage girl, but those aren’t the only girls that show up because of him.

There was a blonde a few days ago that made Stiles’ blood run cold. Sharp smile, smart eyes and daring words, Stiles kind of wishes he was  _that_  self-assured.

“Not my type.” Derek takes his book back, sits next to Stiles.

“Giggling teenage girls?” Stiles jokes.

“Girls in general.” He answers. Stiles freezes up immediately, eyes glued to Derek’s face. He notices Derek swallow thickly, before he turns to stare at Stiles with anger in his eyes. “Does that bother you?”

“No!” Stiles rushes to say. “I just – I – me too, I mean. Well, I like girls, but well – guys are cool too? I like guys.” He fumbles with the words, awkwardly and curses himself. There he goes, making a fool of himself.  _Again_.

Derek snorts. “Smooth.”

“Shut up.” Stiles slaps his shoulder, leans against Derek’s shoulder. “So what’s this book about?”

–

Okay, so it’s been established that Stiles is attracted to Derek. That’s obvious. Day one and that ass left him hypnotized. And then day two came, and after that day three, and then day five and twenty and fifty, and now the crush turned into a  _situation_.

A crush is easy, it goes away when you realize the person isn’t what you thought they were. You watch them bend over to grab a pencil that fell on the floor and thinks 'okay, cool. They are hot but their opinion on literature  _sucks_ ’. But a  _situation_  is just something else. Because that means the looks don’t matter anymore – fine, it matters  _a little bit_  – and the crush turned into a new thing. A  _bigger_  thing that makes your heart beat faster and the dreams involve  _less_  stripping and  _more_  holding hands and kissing under the moonlight.

And the worst part? The  _situation_  does not go away easily, it only grows and gets more complicated. Until one day you wake up and you realize you’re in love.

At that point the  _situation_  gets officially out of control.

And what is he supposed to do with _that?_

–

It’s a slow Monday afternoon and Stiles volunteered to stay at the store helping Derek, his dad arched his eyebrow when Stiles came with the idea and then glanced at where Derek was organizing the new books before cuffing Stiles on the back of the head and telling him to  _behave_. 'I always behave’ Stiles had said but his dad only scoffed.

“No.” Stiles takes yet  _another_  Neil Gaiman book from Derek’s hands and replaces it with an Asimov. “Enough is enough, dude.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Derek huffs, opening the book begrudgingly.

“Nope.” Stiles grins, turning around when the door opens. “Welcome!” He greets as a  _girl-version_  of Derek steps into the shop. “What – you never told me you have a  _twin_!”

“I don’t.” Derek arches an eyebrow as the girl grins at them both. “That’s my older sister.  _Laura_.”

“Hey.” She says, smiling as Stiles continues to stare. They have the same dark hair, but her eyes are blue whilst Derek’s are an amazing shade of green with speckles of gold and –  _shit_ , he really needs to stop daydreaming about Derek’s eyes. “How’s it going, Der?”

“Fine.” Derek narrows his eyes, suspiciously. His sister does not seem fazed by his glare and just throws her arms around his shoulders with a laugh. “What do you want?”

“Relax.” She pulls back, raising her arms. “I come in peace.” Laura then turns to Stiles and grins. “You must be  _Stiles_.” She sticks out her hand, waits for Stiles to take it and then almost  _crushes_  it in her hold. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah,” Stiles swallows, equal parts terrified and impressed, “you too.”

“I’m sure.” Laura licks her lips then turns to her brother again. “Here,” she hands Derek a bag, “mom made cookies.”

“Cookies?” Derek blinks. “Mom?”

“I know.” Laura pulls a face. “Cora tried one and almost threw up.”

“Mom made awful cookies and then asked you to come  _here_ , to bring them to me.” Derek repeats, seemingly as confused as Stiles. “At my job.” He blinks again. “ _What_.”

Laura’s shoulders sag. “She’s worried.” She finally lets out. “I mean – we all are.”

Stiles bites at his lip awkwardly. He really shouldn’t be here for this. “I’m –” he starts, embarrassed, “I’m gonna leave you two alone.”

“No.” Derek says, taking his hand. “Laura was just leaving.”

“Derek!” “But –” They speak at the same time, Laura obviously hurt and Stiles trying to ignore the feeling of holding Derek’s hand.

“Go.” Derek says, giving the bag back to Laura. “And if mom wants to know more about my job, maybe she should  _ask_  me about it. Go,  _please_.” He sounds tired, almost desperate and Stiles’ heart squeezes painfully inside his chest. He tightens his hold on Derek’s hand, tries to offer some comfort in the only way he can, and feels Derek’s body relax next to him.

Laura takes a look at their joined hands and smiles sadly. “Okay.” She leans in to give Derek a kiss on the cheek and then turns around. “Will you be at your apartment tonight?”

Feeling Derek’s body stiffen again, Stiles speaks the first thing that comes into his mind. “We have a date tonight.” Laura’s eyes widen immediately and she turns to Derek with a questioning look.

“Yeah.” Derek answers after a moment. “A date. Tonight. Just –” he takes a deep breath, “I’ll call her, okay?” Laura nods, small and unsure, and finally leaves the store.

They stay like that for another minute, holding hands and staring at the door, until Stiles finally turns to Derek and notices his watery eyes. “Derek.” He squeezes his hand softly.

“I’m sorry.” Derek snaps to reality, pulling back. He begins walking around the store, taking books here and there, touching chairs and re-organizing papers. “I – my sister, she –”

“ _Derek._ ” Stiles follows him as he walks aimlessly, touches his arm. “Please, stop.” He takes his face in both hands, looks him in the eye. “Do you wanna talk?”

“I –” Derek shakes his head, still trying to fight all the conflicting feelings inside. Finally, after a beat, he nods, “yeah.”

–

“Things were bad after my dad died.” Derek says, sitting on the floor of Stiles’ dad office. They locked the store after Laura left and Stiles waited patiently for Derek to collect his thoughts, busied himself making some chamomile tea and rummaging through his dad’s stuff for hidden biscuits. His mom always said that tea and sweets make anyone’s life better. “My mom was a mess, she could barely leave the bed. Laura was trying but – he was her best friend, you know?” Stiles nods silently. “So I took care of everything, because I had to. I helped Cora with her homework. I made breakfast and gave my mom her medicine.” Stiles swallows heavily, leans against Derek’s shoulder in a silent offer of comfort. Derek sighs before resting his head on top of Stiles’.

“After a few months things got back to normal. I mean – as normal as possible.” He adds. “So one day when I was alone at home, I – don’t even know how to explain it. It just happened.” Derek’s voice breaks and Stiles immediately reaches out for his hand, squeezing it tightly. “One second I was thinking about what to do for dinner and the next I was packing my stuff, getting into my dad’s old car and driving away.”

“You ran.” Stiles whispers.

“I left my phone at home and drove for hours.” Derek explains. “When I ran out of gas I just dropped the car in the middle of the road and walked. I felt  _numb_ , hollow. I just thought about leaving and never coming back.” The tears begin to fall and Stiles feels his own eyes watering. He remembers the first year after his mom died, his dad’s drinking problem, Stiles trying to take care of everything. He  _knows_ what Derek went through, he felt it. “I walked for hours until this guy found me.” For the first time, Derek smiles. “He picked me up, drove me to his farm. He and his wife let me stay, eat their food and sleep for days. When I was feeling better he made me help around the farm. His wife taught me how to knit.” Derek laughs and Stiles joins him, imagining a confused sixteen year old being forced by this sweet lady to learn how to knit. “She is most amazing woman I know.” He says.

“She  _sounds_  amazing.” Stiles agrees.

“After a week, she sat me down and asked about my life. I think she realized I needed to vent.” Derek shrugs. “I cried for hours and she only held me, didn’t say a word.” Stiles’ heart breaks a little at the thought of that boy, mourning his father, losing his teenage years. “Then she made me call my mom. That was the worst part.” Derek grits his teeth, shaking his head frantically. “I was so stupid.”

“You were hurting.” Stiles says, nuzzling his head against Derek’s shoulder.

“She cried so much.” Derek continues, ignoring Stiles’ words. “And didn’t even scold me. She was just –  _hurt_. And I did that to her.”

“She knows why you did it.” Stiles adds, bringing Derek’s hand to his lips. “She’s your mom.”

“I tried to be a good son after that. I finished high school, went to college. But – I disappointed her again.” He drops his head against his knees. “I dropped out of college.”

“ _Derek_.” Stiles touches his arm. “She’s your mom, she just wants you to be happy.” Derek keeps his head down. “You need to talk to her.”

“ _How.”_  Derek inquires, desperately. “I can’t even –”

“You  _can_.” Stiles states. “You are strong.”

This time Derek looks at him with an expression Stiles can’t quite understand. “You –” he shakes his head, replaces the sad look with a playful smile, “I thought we had a date tonight.”

Stiles smiles, softly and relieved. “Rain check?”

Derek’s smile turn soft and he brushes a hand over Stiles’ cheek. “How about this weekend?”

Stiles blinks, heart pounding. This is just – not what he was expecting. “For real?”

Derek nods, determined. “For real.”

“Oh.” He answers, dumbly. His mind is completely blank and Derek’s eyes on him only make it harder to think. “Right. Okay.”

Derek smiles, leans in and presses a lingering kiss on his cheek. A soft promise of things to come. “Thank you.”

“Ah,” Stiles clears his throat, shrugging awkwardly, “you’re welcome.”

–

His dad has been sending him weird look throughout the entire dinner, asking questions about college and classes in an obvious effort to get Stiles to talk.

It’s only after dinner when they are watching CSI and Stiles is not making any of his usual jokes that his dad breaks. “Okay,” he turns off the TV, stands up, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Stiles answers.

“Bullshit.” He narrows his eyes. “Don’t try to lie to a cop. Who also happens to be your  _father_.”

Stiles groans, leaning his head back against the couch. “It’s nothing, I was just thinking about college.”

“ _Hah._ ” His dad scoffs. Squat comes thundering down the stairs, barking. When Stiles’ dad shushes him, he whines and lies down next to Stiles’ feet. “We are in the middle of July. Try again.”

“Can’t you just – drop it? For now?” He checks his phone for the tenth time, which is stupid, he didn’t even think about giving his number to Derek. He thought about getting the number with his dad, but that would seem too desperate. Stiles will just have to wait till the morning, like a normal person.

“The last time I  _dropped_  something, you came home with a tattoo.”

Oh, come on. The tattoo thing again? “I was eighteen!”

“I don’t care!” His dad insists, then takes a deep breath and collapses on the couch next to Stiles. Squat immediately jumps on his lap. “Come on, talk to me.” He runs a hand through Stiles’ hair.

Stiles closes his eyes, leans against the touch. “Dad,” he sighs, accepting defeat. He’s an awful liar and the tattoo proves it, “I’m in love.”

Stiles’ dad takes a deep intake of breath. “Oh, boy.” He pulls Stiles in for a hug. “Derek?” Stiles nods against his father’s chest. “Oh, boy.” He repeats.

Stiles feels his dad’s hand on his back, Squat licking his arm, and closes his eyes. “It’s scary.” He admits.

“Yeah.” His dad agrees. “But it feels good too, right?”

Stiles remembers Derek’s hand in his, the gentle kiss on his cheek. “Yeah.”

They stay like that silently, holding each other and thinking about the people they love. The person they lost. “Thank you, dad.” He says.

“You’re welcome.” He presses a kiss on the top of Stiles’ head then adds, “please don’t have sex in the store.”

Stiles snorts. “I promise.”

–

Stiles doesn’t understand weddings. Like, what’s so important about color palettes? And why would one  _pay_  for a DJ when you can simply make a playlist on Spotify and save your money?

“You’re the least romantic person I know.” Scott states when Stiles tells him that. It’s a great Friday afternoon and they are wasting it by visiting yet another restaurant, searching for the  _right_  place where Allison and Scott can finally have their happily ever after.

“Whatever.” Stiles says, eying the – admittedly – beautiful flower arrangements. “It’s not like you wouldn’t marry her  _anywhere_.”

“Well, yeah.” Scott admits, smiling dreamily. “But she wants the whole thing because this will be our only time. Right?”

“You’re so adorable it makes me want to puke.” Stiles jokes, throwing his arm around his best friend’s shoulder.

“Whatever.” Scott imitates, hugging Stiles back. “How is your speech coming?”

Stiles is about to reply when his phone starts ringing. It’s an unknown number and Stiles immediately feels his heart racing, flashbacks of his dad in the hospital after being shot racing through his mind. “Hello?” He answers, hands shaking.

“Hey – it’s Derek.”

“Oh.” Stiles answers, heart still racing but now for an entirely different reason. “Hey.” Scott throws him a dubious look, but Stiles only gives him the finger and walks towards the exit.

“I got your number from your dad when you didn’t show up this morning, or yesterday, or the day before.” Derek explains, hesitantly. “He said something about wedding planning?”

Stiles snorts. “Yeah, my best friend’s wedding.”

“Oh, right. I just kind of – thought you were avoiding me.” He says after a pause.

“No! No, dude.” Stiles rushes to say. “Allison is working on her thesis and Scott was kind of desperate when he called me. I’m the best man, you know?” He explains. “I was – ” he coughs, “I was actually looking forward to seeing you.”

When Derek doesn’t answer, Stiles closes his eyes, cursing himself. So  _stupid_ , why would he say that – who would –

“Me too.” Derek confesses.

Stiles bites at his lip to keep himself from bursting out laughing out of sheer relief. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Derek says, sounding relieved himself. “I talked to my mom and – things went well. We – we are good.”

“That’s great!” Stiles says and means it. Derek deserves to be happy and though Stiles wants to be one of the reasons why Derek is happy too, he keeps that part to himself.

“Yeah, so I was thinking – you – do you still wanna go out? Like, on that date?” He still sounds nervous and Stiles grins at how stupidly happy it makes him feel.

“I do. A lot, actually.” He leans against the wall outside the restaurant they’ve been visiting and ignores the look a girl sends his way when she passes by. He must be grinning like a lunatic.

“Great.” Derek says and Stiles laughs at his enthusiasm. “Can I pick you up tonight? At 7?”

“Yeah.” Stile answers, practically bouncing up and down on his feet. “7 sounds great.”

“Okay.” Derek says. “I gotta go now, your dad is kind of giving me a weird look.”

Stiles snorts, shaking his head. “Ignore him.”

“I’ll try,” Derek tells him, sounding somewhat scared. Great, Stiles will have to talk to his dad,  _again_. “See you tonight.”

Stiles mutters a quick goodbye before pocketing his phone and throwing his hands up with a muted ’ _yes_ ’. When he walks inside the restaurant again to find Scott, he’s smiling so hard his cheeks hurt.

“You’re freaking me out.” It’s the first thing Scott says.

Stiles pats his shoulder. “Come on, this place sucks. We can find something better for your wedding.”

“What happened to you?”

Stiles sighs, happily. “His name is  _Derek_.”

–

“You do  _not_  have a tattoo.” Derek gives him a dubious look and takes a sip of his beer. He looked nervous when he stopped by Stiles’ house and Stiles’ dad didn’t help with his casual comment about still owning a gun. He loves his dad,  _really_ , but he’s twenty-three years old, this is not his first date.

Though, it’s the first time he changed outfits  _three_  times before one, so that’s something.

“Yep, I do.” He insists, stealing another fry from Derek’s plate.

Derek pretends to bat his hand away, but actually moves the plate closer to Stiles. “Your dad would have killed you.”

Stiles smiles. “Nah, he just pretends to be a hard-ass. I think he still misses being a cop.”

“I can see that.” Derek states. “So? Where is it?”

“My chest.” Stiles shrugs. “I don’t exactly want people to see it, so –” Derek nods in understanding. “How about you?”

“I’ve got a couple.” Derek answers and  _that_  takes Stiles by surprise. A  _couple_  is more than one. A  _couple_  means Derek keeps them well hidden under his shirt. And maybe his pants.  _Oh,_ shit.

Stiles takes a gulp of his own beer. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll show them to you one day.” Derek says, eyes never straying away from Stiles’ face.

“ _Dude_.” Stiles swallows heavily. “Don’t do that.”

“Sorry.” Derek smirks, not sounding sorry at all. Stiles feels his face flushing red and his heart just won’t stop hammering inside his chest as Derek keeps looking at him with that same playful smile.

He’s amazing, Stiles thinks. Book nerd, loving son, responsible employee, flirting dork – he’s just too much, too good. And Stiles loves him.

“Are you okay?” Derek inquires, when Stiles stands up suddenly.

“I gotta – bathroom.” He excuses himself quickly and all but runs to the bathroom.

Slamming the door behind himself, he leans against the sink and tries to breathe. This is too early, he keeps breathing, this is not what Derek signed up for. This is a first date maybe followed by a goodnight kiss, this isn’t the first date of a stupid love story.

While Stiles was daydreaming about his feelings he forgot the most obvious, important thing there is: he is in love, he  _knows_  that, but Derek – Derek  _isn’t._

With his mind made up, he walks back to the table, ignoring the confused look on Derek’s face. “I need to go.” He says, throwing a 50 dollar bill on the table. “Just – yeah, I gotta go.”

“What – Stiles –” Derek stands up too, worried, “wait, I drove you here.”

“I’ll call an Uber, it’s fine.” Stiles tries to smile, fails. “Thank you for – this.”

“I don’t understand.” Derek tries, following Stiles to the exit. People are staring and some are whispering rude things, but Stiles only ignores it. He’s hurting enough as it is. “Come on, talk to me.” He takes Stiles’ hand, stops him from moving. “If you weren’t interested why did you accept?”

“No, that’s not it.” Stiles pulls away, keeps walking. “Something else came up.”

“Don’t lie to me.” Derek snarls and that’s a new look – he’s never seen Derek angry like this before. “Don’t you dare. I opened up to you, can’t you just –”

“I’m in love with you!” Stiles shouts, throwing his hands in the air. Derek freezes mid sentence, mouth open and eyes wide. “There.” He says, smiling tiredly when Derek doesn’t answer. “Just let me go home, yeah?” This time when he starts walking again, Derek doesn’t stop him.

–

He doesn’t cry when he gets home, only goes straight to the couch and turns on the TV. His dad comes down the stairs at some point, gives him a worried look and asks if he’s okay, when Stiles doesn’t answer he sits next to him silently.

At some point during the third Vikings episode they are pretending to watch, Stiles’ phone starts ringing. He doesn’t move to answer so it just keeps going off with alerts of new messages and missed calls.

“At least turn it off.” His dad huffs a few minutes later.

Stiles throws the phone at him. “You do it.” He mutters weakly, turning his attention back to the screen.

“Son,” his dad says eventually, “you should see this.”

“I’ll see it tomorrow.”

“No, really.” His dad insists. “Just take a look.”

Stiles sighs, raises his hand as his dad hands him the phone. There are ten missed calls and over a hundred messages. All from Derek.

_**'I’m sorry, please talk to me’** _

_**'answer the phone, Stiles. Please’** _

_**'fuck, you’re so stubborn’** _

_**'I hate you’** _

_**'no, fuck. I don’t hate you.’** _

_**'come on, Stiles. I don’t wanna tell you that I’m in love with you too over a fucking text message’** _

“What.” Stiles stands up immediately. More and more messages are still coming, all saying the same thing – confused apologies, almost desperate pleas for a second chance. “You idiot.” Stiles whispers, finally typing an answer.

**_'come here, you dumbass’_ **

–

“I’m sorry.” Derek says as soon as Stiles opens the door. “I was surprised, I mean – at first I thought it was going well and then you freaked out and I thought I had ruined everything. And then –”

“I shouted my love to you in the middle of the road.” Stiles finishes.

“Yeah, that.” Derek nods. “I’m really –”

“You said you’re in love with me.” Stiles interrupts. “I mean you  _wrote_ it, but –” he trails off, unsure of what to say. This is as confusing to him as it is to Derek.

“I did.” Derek confirms. “I meant it.” He reaches out for Stiles’ face, stops himself when all Stiles does is keep staring.

The hurt look on Derek’s face is enough to make Stiles’ brain start working again and before Derek can say another word, he’s taking Derek’s hands in his and pulling him closer. “I’m in love with you.” He repeats.

This feeling, he understands now, isn’t supposed to be feared, it’s supposed to be  _cherished._

“I’m in love with you, too.” Derek answers, this time without hesitation or confusion.

Stiles says it again a few seconds later because he now  _can_  and hears Derek whisper them back just before he leans in and finally fits their lips together.

–

**Epilogue**

“They are beautiful.” Stiles says, running his fingers over the tattoos on Derek’s thighs, up his chest and shoulders. “ _You_  are beautiful.” He whispers, watching as Derek sighs, completely naked and relaxed on Stiles’ bed, the moon light coming through the window making his green eyes shine.

“So are you.” Derek says, smiling and raising his head to kiss Stiles’ cheek. “Hydrangeas?” Derek brushes a finger over Stiles’ own tattoo.

Stiles blinks, astonished. Derek is just full of surprises, isn’t he? “How do you know?”

Derek shrugs. “Mrs. Jones, the lady who took me in when I ran. She had a garden.”

“Oh.” Stiles rests his head over Derek’s heart, feels his chest rising at every inhale. “Have you talked to them since?”

“Sometimes.” Derek presses a kiss against his temple. “I was actually thinking about visiting them this winter, they love Christmas.” He admits and after a beat, he adds, “would you come with me?”

Stiles smiles, rolls over so he’s on top of Derek. “You planning on keeping me for that long?”

Derek kisses him, grins as Stiles’ eyes flutter shut. “Yeah.” He confesses. “And then some.”

Stiles stifles his laugh against Derek’s shoulder. “Good. Because I wasn’t planning on letting you go that easy.”

Derek’s smile is the most beautiful thing Stiles has ever seen. “I was counting on it.”

**Author's Note:**

> that's the worst title i could come up with. forgive me.


End file.
